Timber Talks
River Mill Elementary - August 23, 2024
Dear River Mill Families,
We are so excited to welcome your children back to school on Monday! Our dedicated staff has been working tirelessly to prepare for a fantastic year of learning, growth, and fun. We can’t wait to see the bright smiles of our students as they walk through the doors, ready for new adventures and opportunities. Thank you to all of our 1st--5th grade families that attended Open House on Thursday, it was a succesful evening!
Pre-K Families: Teacher Elizabeth sent communication with details related to Pre-K on Thursday. Please check your inboxes. Teacher Elizabeth will also be providing students and families the opportunity to come and see the learning space and have your questions answered. Your child's first official day of Pre-K will be on Tuesday, September 3rd!
Kindergarten Families: On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (Aug. 26th - Aug. 28th,) your child will have one, half day of school that has been scheduled for a soft start. (See below for Soft Start details). All kindergarten students will attend on Thursday, August 29th for a half day. Kindergarten students' first full day of school will be on Tuesday, September 3rd. Remember that your Open House is on September 5th from 5:30-7:00.
ALL Families: During morning drop off, we ask that if you choose to walk your child toward the building that you give a hug and well wishes at the door and let our staff take it from there. Families will not be walking their child into the building. We know it can be emotional and hard to walk away, but your child is in good hands! If your child has a hard time, we still ask that you not linger because sometimes that can make it even trickier. If your child does continue to struggle, we will be in communication with you.
Safety & Security: Your child's safety is our top priority! In order to make sure we know what to do with your child at the end of the school day, it is imperative that you access and utilize PickUp Patrol. You can find information below about how to do that, or you are welcome to call our office for assistance. Registration emails were sent out earlier this week. On PickUp Patrol, you can indicate if your child should ride the bus, walk, or be picked up by someone, including who. If your child's dismissal plans change, you can make edits right within that system. All changes must be made in PickUp Patrol, or via the office. This needs to be done before the first day of school! Pick up Patrol is for our Kindergarten- 5th grade students, NOT PreK.
School Meals: Every morning all students (with the exception of PreK) will go into the cafeteria. If your child has breakfast, you will be charged for it. If you do not want them to have school breakfast, please make sure your child understands this. We will not be able to monitor and keep track of that for 500+ students upon entry. Same thing with lunch. If your child grabs a school lunch, you will be charged for it. Many families qualify for free or reduced lunches, even when they don't think that they would. Further down this newsletter, there is a link you can select in order to apply for this free or discounted meal rate. We encourage all families to do this, it not only helps you, but it also helps us qualify for additional funding to support our Title I programs, which leads to higher levels of student academic support.
Kindergarten and Mrs. Simonsen's Open House: We will host another Open House for our Kindergarten families and students, as well as Mrs. Simonsen's class on Thursday, September 5th. We will invite you inside classrooms, where teachers will provide two scheduled information sessions for families, along with opportunities to drop in if you are unable to attend a classroom session. Teacher presentations will include information on classroom systems, routines, communication methods, and other essentials to help students be successful this school year.
Open House: 5:30-7:00 PM
- 5:40-6:00 – Presentation 1
- 6:00-6:20 – Drop-In Time
- 6:20-6:40 – Presentation 2
- 6:40-7:00 – Drop-In Time
We can't wait for the official beginning of our 2024-2025 school year!
Lindsey Fullenwider, Principal
Trevor Syring, Vice Principal
The First Few Weeks of Kindergarten
and Kindergarten's Assigned Soft Start Day
Please note that the times for Soft Start our not our typical school start and stop times.
Please make note of your child's assigned soft start day,
based on the first letter of their last name.
School Times
Monday through Thursday: 7:45 AM - 2:35 PM
Friday (REID Day): 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM
For our Kindergaten -- 5th Grade Families
PickUp Patrol -- How is your child getting home?
FOR ALL FAMILIES: TO BE COMPLETED BEFORE THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
To ensure the safety of all our students, we ask that all families use the PickUp Patrol app to inform us of their child's daily transportation plans. Please make sure you have set up your child's plans for the first day of school and for the rest of the school year. This is an essential step for the first day of school. You can update these plans at any time! Registration emails were sent earlier this week.
PickUp Patrol in NOT for our PreK Students.
If you need any help or support, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. We're here and happy to assist!
Arrival and Dismissal Procedures
Meal Prices for the 2024-2025 School Year
Meal prices for this school year are coming soon! Please visit our District's Nutrition Services Webpage for information and the latest updates on meal prices.
My School Bucks
My School Bucks is an online payment service that provides parents the ability to securely pay for meals, monitor student cafeteria purchases, and receive email notifications for low account balances. Please note: currently, a convenience fee will be applied for each transaction. All transactions are processed and applied to students' accounts nightly. To enroll, please follow the link below and have your student's ID number handy.